Thursday, October 27, 2011

FEATURING, FALL WITH THE COVERSTONES

Fall is Jim's favorite time of the year-Trees turning color, brisk mornings, blue sky (if we're lucky), time to do burn piles and time to settle in for the winter. Jim is doing good after his gall bladder surgery on Sep 6. The first "big" thing he did 5 weeks after his surgery was light up a burn pile and toss in surrounding sticks. I left to make lunch and bring it down to us. When I returned there was a big log on top of the fire. I asked how it got there. Jim's reply, silence, which sometimes speaks louder than words . . . GUILTY!
Also in the Fall, we celebrate 3 birthdays. Dylan turned 3 on Sep. 12. He's bringing cupcakes for the kids at daycare.




Kelly did a "Construction" theme for his birthday, which explains why the presents are in a wheelbarrow.

She had signs at the various activities.


The "demolition zone" had a bulldozer pinata. Be safe, wear your hardhat. And makes a great place to gather candy in after the pinata gets cracked open.


Owen turned 3 on Oct. 1st. His party was at Bishop's Pumpkin Farm. It's a real fun place, has animals to feed, a railroad, pig races, a fort to climb around in, hayrides and a pumpkin patch. Here's cousin Dylan, trying on a pumpkin.



One, two, three, blow that candle out Owen.

Wheeeee down the big ol' slide.


Here's my cute as ever 3 year old pose.


Another Fall birthday, on Oct. 21st, is Kevin. 29 years for him.


Another wonderful Fall activity is football. Jim and I got tickets for the BYU vs OSU football game. Jim wore blue & white, I wore black and orange.


There was a good showing from the BYU cougars.



I had a BYU shirt under my OSU shirt. In the end, wearing blue was a better idea. No comment on the final score.


Jim with Cosmo the Cougar.


Fall is havest time. Onions drying in the garage.


Potatoes drying on the floor.


Watermelons didn't do as good as last year, bummer.


I carved the grandkid's names in the pumpkin when it was small and then it heals over as it grows.


I canned salsa, raspberry jam, blueberry jam and made tomatoe sauce; all from our garden. I haven't canned in many years and it was actually fun.



In late September, I headed for Yuba City, CA. This actually isn't a postcard, I took this picture of the Buttes that surround Yuba City.



I was excited to go, but the reason for my trip was not a happy one. Kelly had to have gall bladder surgery. That right! 6 weeks after her dad had his out! As she talked with her dad after his surgery, many of his symptoms sounded all too familar to some problems she was having. The ultrasound revealed that her gall bladder was completely collapsed and causing her problems. So I headed south to take care of her and her family.



Smiling now, but not later. When Chris and I walked in after the surgery, ohhhh the scoul we got, not pretty! She continued to have a couple of bad side effects of surgery for a few days after surgery, but now she is doing fine, but still taking it easy.


My job, Keep the Troops busy and happy. We went to the Fall Festival at Alex's school.


Ya gotta love the teeth. Ohhh sooo scary!


During the week, soccer practice. Saturday, soccer games. Yes, Sophia is the tallest, but a few other girls are catching up.

Long legs on this girl.



All games are at the same location. So after Sophia's game, I watched a little of Alex's game,


And Payton's game.


We played at the park to pass the time. Dylan's learning to master the log roll.




He could swing for hours!


Later, we went to Ryan's grandma's new house that she is having built out in the country. We are going to seee the. . . .



And here they are!



3 little cuties wait for Ryan to come give them a ride on the quad.





I got to meet Otis, Addy's tortoise. He is small, but has a big appetite for veges and fruits.



So those are some of the things we love about Fall. In a few days, our grandchildren will turn into ghouls, ghost and goblins. Also a fun fall things. We'll send you those pictures later. Hope your Fall is falling into place. jim and kathy

Sunday, September 11, 2011

WE LOVE SUMMER, MOST OF THE TIME

It took till mid August for summer to find us here in Albany. So we seized those summer days and made some memories. These pics and videos are a few of the highlights of our summer. I'll make a more detailed post later.


Things we LOVE about summer:

Trips to the Wildlife Refuge near Grants Pass






Crater Lake



Road trips with these 3 crazies. They are actually wonderful travel companions!



We love cousin time. New birthday bikes.


Birthday Parties- Addy 15, Alex 13 and Payton 5 all in August.



Addy's new birthday pet, Otis the tortoise.




We love trust in our big sister.


Gardens WITHOUT weeds

We loved visiting Kevin at BSA Camp Meriweather. He worked there for 10 weeks, as an assistant at the Shotgun Range.

We love visits from kids and grandkids.






We love tractor work (because we work less)

We super love, Family vacations at Running Y Ranch, near Klamath Falls, Oregon




Swimming


Exploring nature (tadpole at Lake of the Woods)




Jet Boat Excursions at Hellgate Canyon on the Rogue River.

And 360 turns are a blast!


We love more swimming






scooter rides



Jim wasn't always upright. He took a spill over the handlebars, when he had Max on the leash. Took 2 weeks for the scrapes to heal, a month for the jammed thumb to feel better and I think he's still working on healing the bruised pride.









We love Wiggle car rides





Some things we didn't like about this summer was hand surgery for Addy.(2 nerves and a tendon were sewn back together) Addy learned a hard lesson--no water fights in the kitchen and NEVER use a glass to splash water on someone.
This is Jim on Sep 4, new chainsaw (our old one died, we ran the heck out of it)



This is Jim on Sep 5. Jim had an emergency surgery to remove his gall bladder on Sep 5th.
The Surgeon was telling Jim he needed surgery and then told him some of the restraints he would have after the surgery. She said, "No lifting anything heavier than 10 lbs for a month." Jim's reply, "Awww, I just bought a new chainsaw yesterday." The surgeon replied, "Absolutely not!"
He is doing better now and healing up quite well. We are so glad Addy and Jim are on the mend.




It's 9/11/11, ten years from that horrible tragedy. If you have time, please say a little prayer for the family members left behind.